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Culinary horticulturist Scott D. Appell returns to We Dig Plants to talk about the botanical effects of the Crusades! Alice Marcus-Krieg and Carmen Devito talk with Scott from his home in Puerto Rico about the ornamental and edible plants that were introduced to Europe and beyond after the Crusades. Hear what plants were revered for religious reasons, and what plants from the Middle East were discovered and used for medicinal reasons. How did the fall of the Roman Empire and subsequent geological events change agriculture in Europe? Find out how the Crusades introduced the Mediterranean to many of the foods and herbs that are associated with the area today! Learn how Europeans learned about horticulture from the Arabs, and why the Middle East developed perfumes and cosmetics before the rest of the world. This program has been sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. Music has been provided by The California Honeydrops.

“The ancient Romans gardened for fun – horticulture versus agriculture. In the Dark Ages, nobody gardened for fun! They just grew food. But by going to the Middle East, they saw that the Arabs had a far-advanced landscape value. [25:45]